


A Work in Progress

by SorakuFett



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Broken Bones, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Post-Canon, Post-War, Spacer (Mass Effect), Vanguard (Mass Effect), War Hero (Mass Effect), character tags to be added as they appear, mentions of scars
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-16 22:57:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15447690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SorakuFett/pseuds/SorakuFett
Summary: Following the destruction of the Reapers, life has slowly started going back to normal in the Milky Way. The geth and quarians are making peace, the krogans are thriving, the asari, humans and turians are rebuilding, and the salarians are carrying on as they always do.But for one redheaded human biotic and one scarred turian sniper, things haven't gone back to normal quite yet. Jane Austen Shepard wakes up from her months-long coma following the Crucible's detonation, with her boyfriend, Garrus Vakarian, ready to help her on the bumpy road to recovery.





	A Work in Progress

When the Crucible's blast hit, a lot of things happened.

First and foremost, the Reapers died, a relief to everyone that it did what they all hoped it would. Their metal husks crashing down, their demonic lights dimming... a sight to behold.

It was a time of celebration for many. An ancient cycle broken, a dark prophecy forever unfulfilled. But for many, the victory came at a cost. The Mass Relays were broken, but they could be repaired with time. The damage to the Citadel could be rebuilt, but people came to live there again more quickly than expected. The geth went offline, but only momentarily. And they came back quickly, as intact as before. For all but the Reapers, the Crucible's damage amounted to little more than a galactic EMP. But there was still damage to be fixed. Some would take longer than others.

For some, however, there were more immediate concerns.

Whatever happened on the Crucible, no one was quite sure of. The Keepers were silent as ever, but among the bodies recovered, there were three that stood out.

The Illusive Man, leader of Cerberus, was found his body extensively modified with Reaper technology, likely of his own doing. What also appeared to be self-inflicted was the bullet hole in his right temple. 

David Edward Anderson, Earth Systems Alliance Navy Admiral, former Human Councilor and leader of the Anti-Reaper Resistance on Earth, was found having bled out from a gunshot wound in his abdomen.

And finally, Commander Jane Austen Shepard, N7, Council Spectre and Hero of the Citadel, was found, miraculously, alive. Her body had been ravaged beyond belief, her cybernetic implants failing, leaving her on the brink of death.

The first few weeks or so, the doctors simply tried to understand how she was even alive. She had been mere feet from a blast fired by the Reaper Leader Harbinger, which decimated her armor. She had been grievously injured, with multiple broken bones, severe muscle and nerve damage present, and a generally grim prognosis. Perhaps it was the implants keeping her alive. Cerberus had practically poured trillions of credits into her to bring her back from the dead. Perhaps it was her iron will, the very same will that stopped the Reapers, time after time. Hell, it could have been something within the Prothean Beacon all those years a go, who could honestly say.  
  
But through it all, he stayed right by her side. Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec Officer-turned vigilante-turned Advisor to the Primarch. But more important than all of that, he was the man who loved her. He had been with her almost from the start, taking on Saren's geth, the Collectors, Cerberus, you name it. But all that skill couldn't help in this moment. All he could do was wait. Hope. As a sniper, he was used to waiting, but not like this. Never like this.

He stayed with her for days. Days became weeks. Weeks became months. He ate, and he slept, but never too far. Never from where he couldn't see her when she woke up. Not if. Never if. This was Commander Jane Shepard. There was no "if." The woman died and all it did was slow her down. A little coma couldn't stop her. When the doctors worked, he kept out of their way, but he refused to leave the hospital. The farthest he went was the vending machine a few doors down, once, when he hadn't eaten a thing all day.   
  
A few months had passed. Many of their friends had come by. Ashley had helped bring the Commander to the hospital, almost just as determined as Garrus not to let her die. Kaidan's death still hurt a little after all these years, and she promised herself she wouldn't let anything like that happen again. She also noted the odd twist of fate, where only several months prior, the situation was reversed, with Ash comatose and Jane wishing for her recovery. Tali came by the first free moment she had, taking a formal leave of absence from the Admiralty. She managed to introduce Garrus to Centurion, a geth she had installed into her suit as part of the geth and quarian's plan to "jump-start" their immune systems, as the quarian had once put it. Garrus was caught a little off guard at the notion of Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, of all people, walking around with a geth in her suit. Liara had come by later, to personally pass on some notes and medical research to Shepard's doctors. All things considered, she was relieved to see Shepard's condition, and admitted to having feared the worst. 

What few friends were not busy rebuilding the galaxy had stayed to help Garrus watch over Jane, as well as make sure Garrus didn't kill himself doing the same. The ones who couldn't sent well wishes, as well as various messages and gifts. Garrus was tempted to open them, but decided against it. He had a gut feeling that she would wake up soon. They could read them together. Probably the first normal thing they would do as a couple. 

Garrus had plenty of dreams about how all this would turn out. But he was always awake when the big moment came, whatever it was.

Which just made him more embarrassed when he fell asleep before it actually did.

When she woke up, everything was foggy. But as the minutes passed, things became clearer. Music was playing on the radio beside them. The TV was playing some commercials, but was muted. She looked out the window, and at first thought the fog was just her mind still waking up, before coming to the conclusion that it was  _actual fog._

But then she looked down to her right, and a smile spread across her face. There he was, her vigilant guardian, her loving watcher, head down against the bed, sleeping in a way that probably did no favors for his back. She giggled at the sight. If only everyone could see him like this. The gruff, often cold exterior of a man nearly broken by the depravity of the galaxy, only to rise up against it, so quickly betrayed by his doting, caring, loving nature and his boyish inexperience with full-fledged relationships and dating. She ventured a hand to pat him on his head. His rough, metallic carapace had long been a wonderful thing to feel. She stroked his head lovingly a few times, before he stirred slightly. His eyes went wide. He lifted his head up and looked at her, his tired blue eyes meeting her beautiful green. Before Garrus, she hadn't quite nailed how the turian smile looked, but the two of them have taught each other a lot about how their bodies worked. Now, she could easily see the relief, happiness, love and speechlessness, all written on his face.

"Hi there," she simply whispered, giggling. "Sorry if I kept you."

Garrus was in awe. This human, this woman, even with her injuries, was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked, slightly afraid of the answer. He wanted to badly to see her wake up, but he distinctly remembers her still being asleep when he... fell unconscious. From exhaustion. Of course.

"Only a few minutes, don't worry. You haven't missed much, Garrus." she replied, with a smile. That smile, with such warmth and happiness behind it. The one that melted his heart when he saw it, and made him wonder how it always made him feel stronger.

"A few minutes? Well... I suppose we do have our whole lives ahead of us now. A few bygone minutes won't kill me." He reached out and took her hand in his, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, careful not to scratch her with his talons.

She looked back out the window. The vague shape of a tree was visible through the fog, but it was somewhat light out. "Hey, where are we, anyway?" she asked.

"Earth," he answered, adding, "a big hospital in North America. One of the few the Reapers didn't knock over, either on purpose or in their death throes."

"Huh. Good to be back home, I guess. Kinda wish the weather was better." she lamented.

"Right now, I don't really give a damn how the weather looks. I'm just glad you're okay." He was never quite one for nature or sunny days or those kinds of things. He was a soldier, but also, as Jane found from their many talks, a city boy, more interested in infrastructure and engineering than 'big trees or big rocks,' as he would say. But he did surprise her sometimes. She suddenly remembered one of the last things he said, just before the final push for the Crucible. How he wanted them to retire somewhere 'warm and tropical.' That certainly sounded nice right about now.

"Well, once I get out of here, how about I show you Hawaii or Greece? Would those fit your 'warm and tropical' fantasy?' she told him, once again giggling.

He was surprised she remembered. He chuckled. "Oh, hell yes. I've heard many good things about those places. Of course, it's a big galaxy. There'll be a lot of competition for that perfect spot!"

The two shared a laugh, their first in a long while. How she missed his laugh. Her dreams couldn't compare to the real thing. The subtle flanging of his voice was wonderful to hear. Then, of course, she laughed a little too hard. She winced suddenly, having obviously strained something.

His reaction was immediate, getting up from his chair and leaning over her. "Are you okay? Where does it hurt?"

"I'm... I'm fine... just need to... watch how hard I laugh..." she said, somewhat weakly.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Spirits, don't scare me like that, especially when I haven't had any good sleep." He moved the chair he had been sitting in closer, before sitting down again. Just then, a nurse came into the room. A human man, clearly a volunteer, judging by how he carried himself.

"Oh! You're awake now! That's excellent! I'll go tell Dr. Zhang!" he said, clearly happy to see the Commander alright. He ducked out, before coming back in, remembering something. "Ah, Mr. Vakarian, you told me to remind you to catch some sleep once the Commander woke up?"

"Right, yeah. Thanks, Ron." Shepard looked at the tag on the man's shirt. 'R. Nielsen' it read. Garrus turned back to Shepard as the nurse walked out. "I'm gonna get something to wake me up. Do you want anything?"

"Garrus..." she scolded. He looked like a bit of a mess. If he had hair, it'd be in shambles. But she knew he wouldn't rest easy until he  _knew_ she was okay, or at least that she was going to be. With a sigh, she answered him. "I'm fine. I think I'll wait for the doctor to tell me what I should have. Don't wanna accidentally swallow something that I could choke on."

Garrus nodded. A smart idea from a smart woman. He leaned down over her. She reached up to his face and, for the first time in months, the two kissed. It was chaste, but loving and they held it for a while. "Don't worry. I'll be right back. I love you." he said.

"I love you too." she replied. 

The hard part was over. What lay next, they could get through together.


End file.
